Let's do our scripture reading from the book of Amos, chapter 8, we will read verse 11. The book of Amos, chapter 8, we will be reading verse 11. As I'm also teaching at BIA, I'm also pastoring in Kayelitsha, a township in Cape Town. Since I'm pastoring to people, some of them are illiterate, I usually, when I tell them where to read, where we are reading, I will have to wait for about two minutes and just make sure everyone is on the same page because it takes time. Usually you will see them, I like looking at their facial expression, you will see them paging and the other one assisting, and then the other one is reading. So I'll wait for you to find the book of Amos. In fact, when I preach in other places, because this has become a habit, I've seen some of my Zimbabwean friends. I was shocked when I saw Jerome talking about AI, because it looks like technology has been forced on them. I look at them when they use phones, the Bible apps. I look at them when they page. They do this on the phone. And then when they find a place, it's like, ah, ah. So I like looking at the facial expressions when people are finding the passage. So it's Amos chapter 8, verse 11. Just to give a bit of a background, In the ancient world, they didn't have the national intelligence agencies like we do. All nations have them. And if something happens, then they are called to account. Now, because they didn't have the national intelligence services as we do today, for them, their intelligence services were the diviners. We usually divide them into two, the technical divination and the non-technical divination. Technical divination are those who use techniques, read the entrails of the animals, read the skies and the stars, so that they can tell if the gods are angry or there will be something bad that will happen. They will know the will of the gods before time. And those who did non-technical divination will be prophets. So prophets as well in the ancient world were very important for the state so that they know what is going to happen in the state. So I usually call them the divine intelligence. because they hear from God, or they know the will of the God, and they will communicate that to the people. And we see that here in the Book of Amos. Amos was prophesying in the northern Israel. And looking at this passage that you'll be reading, it looks like he saw himself as the last prophet in the northern Israel. And in fact, he was. His contemporary was here in the 760s. And everything that he prophesied came into fulfillment. And here he says, you will be going around seeking the word of the Lord, or seeking the divine intelligence. Because people, after 40 years, when Assyria attacks Israel, they will be looking around and looking for a prophet to tell them, just as we will do today, looking for the national intelligence to inform us what to do, what's going to happen, how to avoid what is happening. So they will be looking for prophets, looking for the word of the Lord. So it is so nice to have the word of the Lord which we trust and which is our divine intelligence. Let's read. I'm reading from the ESV. The days are coming, declares the Lord God. When I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord, they shall wander from sea to sea and from north to east. They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it. At this time, we will call upon Jerome to introduce our first speaker. Don't worry, AI has decided to take over. So I am that guy. I was told by our commander that I should not try and preach a sermon. I've come to introduce someone. I would like to introduce to us this morning our guest, our speaker for this morning, Dr. Roy Musasiwa, the one who has the right to be called Reverend Dr. Musasiwa. He is the founder and principal of Domboshawa Theological College and runs TOPAZ, Trainers of Pastors Association of Zimbabwe, an organization that runs non-formal training of pastors and pastoral leaders up to advanced certificate level. He is also a conference speaker, a mentor, a marriage counselor. He started at the University of Zimbabwe, UNISA, the Australian College of Theology, and the University of Natal. He is married to Sylvia And they have four children and 11 grandchildren. Yesterday someone was posting of going to have one grandchild. So with the no further ado, and I know Dr. Roy Musosiwa is a man of God. When Dr. O'Brien said to me, who do you know in Zimbabwe? who can come and speak to us, I say it, Dr. Roy Musasiwa. The reason why I suggested him is because at some point in time, we were delivering some talks in Harare, and as a name-depending in theology, I was going to deliver, and specifically presenting a paper against the University of Zimbabwe, our professors. And as feisty as I am, I had no grace. I tore them to pieces. But Dr. Roemsel's watchers came and just counted everything now, pastorally. And by the end of the day, we were friends. So I got this. This is the man. This is the man that I am safe under, because I stop wars everywhere, and he comes and counts everything down. So, with no further ado, come and meet us this morning. Greetings, everyone, in the mighty name of our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Yeah, it really gives me joy to be here. It's such an honor, you know, my dead viewer parents and Teresa and I, the speaker today. Thank you so much for the honor. I would like to acknowledge everyone who is here, the leadership of this organization. But I would also like to acknowledge my wife in absentia, where she sends her greetings to you. And she also sent me this morning a prayer, knowing, of course, that I won't be speaking today. She just sent me the prayer and said, may the Holy Spirit guide you. I think it's proclaiming truth in an artificial world. Embracing authenticity and integrity in double education. And I would like to say that being on the last day, you might find a lot of things being things that have already been covered. And I think it's OK. If that is the case, it's OK. It would be a question of underlying. Maybe the Holy Spirit is saying certain things must be underlined. So when you find that repetition, it will simply be underlying what the Lord wants to say. Now, this thing must face away for it to move. Let me just see. OK, it's not moving, eh? Those who are technical can tell me they are facing the wrong direction. So let me then say that I thought it was something that was very close to my heart, and as a theological educator, I trust it is also something that is very close to your heart. And this is how I intend to tackle I would just like to do a little bit of definition of terms. I won't take long over what I know other people have already covered. So the definition of terms, I'll just rush over that very quickly. The modern world of artificial intelligence is dangers and opportunities. Again, this is something that has really been covered, so I will not take much longer. activity in verbal education. And then of course I will have some important closing remarks. But along the way I would like to also give you some questions for reflection. When you say this is something I don't need to think about, so we need to be just bearing in mind those particular questions for discussion. It means being genuine. It means being real. It's the opposite of being false. Opposite of being copied. Opposite of being artificial. Imagine you go in the bank and you are trying to make some money. And the storyteller says, this particular note, this, well, in Zimbabwe we talk about hundred US dollar notes, you know. This particular hundred US dollar note is, it looks genuine, but it's not, so you can't take it. Imagine the embarrassment of that. Now, Jesus, one of Jesus' biggest problems with the pharisees was how they created something, an impression. what it looks, which did not represent the inner reality, the false appearance of spirituality, but they were very far from true spirituality. In other words, one of Jesus' biggest problems was lack of authenticity within the Pharisees. Authenticity also talks about being true to oneself, One's true nature, one's true beliefs. This is a real Philippi. Jesus asked, but who do people say that the Son of Man is? Some say John the Baptist. Some say Elias. I am Elijah, my goodness, that's me. Jeremiah, one of the prophets. He would have lived on borrowed identity. So he pressed on and said, but what about you? What do you say that I am? And Peter gave five answers. He says, blessed are you, son of God. The flesh and blood does not reveal this to you. Jesus wanted to live in authenticity. He wanted to live in Integrity. So authenticity is very important. But it also goes along another term, the term integrity. It has got a relationship with authenticity. It is a term that comes from the word integral. When we were studying mathematics, we were talking about integrals, whole numbers. So this is where we get the word integrity. It's not a fraction, it's a whole. Hence, integrity is about wholeness. It's about who you are in private, is who you are in public, who you are on Sunday, is who you are Monday to Thursday, Friday, Saturday. You live a whole life. That's where integrity comes from. It's not where you want to create an appearance in one sphere of life. Like you want to create an appearance of holiness on Sunday. Like children, this could be just a fictional story, but instead of children coming to their parents and saying, can you please move and leave? Let's leave our home and live within the church. I love you, brother. Oh, how are you? How are you? But when you come home, you're a killer. So maybe we live in church. We might have the benefit of some of your kindness that we see in this place. What is that saying? It's talking about love of integrity. What you are presenting yourself to be on Sunday is not what you really are. So we're talking about wholeness. about the word integrity, although there may be some synonyms of that word. I mean, synonyms like, you know, moral uprightness, moral principles, being ethical, being righteous, virtue, sincerity, truthfulness, trustworthiness. These are some of the accompanying terms which try to express But there's artificial flowers. They look genuine. They look real. But they're not the real thing. It's made by human beings. It doesn't occur naturally. Or a substitute for something natural, like artificial limbs. In Zimbabwe during the war, some people had their limbs blown by landmines. And so they needed artificial limbs, right? But that's not what God created. That's what human beings created in order to help you because you don't have a leg or you don't have an arm or something like that. So that's the whole thing about artificial. Now, when we talk about artificial in those terms, does it then mean that we must reject everything artificial? No. Does it mean artificial intelligence? Is something evil to be rejected? The answer is no. And this is not necessary. It just means AI must not be glorified and taken as a panacea to all human problems. You know, the first time I ever owned a radio was in 19... Now, when I say whatever your heart clings to and relies on, this is a statement that I will not forget. Why? Because in 1971, when I was an upper sixth student, the Bible Society was going around, you know, in various schools, and they had competitions, essay competitions. For sixth formers, the essay competition was, Whatever your heart clings to and relies on is your God. So I entered this competition and won my first rendezvous. And that's why this statement has stuck with me for all those years. And I'm saying with artificial intelligence, it can become something that your heart clings to, that your heart relies on, is what would say some reliable champions. Some rely on horses, but our trust is in the Lord. Artificial intelligence can become that kind of a God. That kind of an image where people say, now here is the solution to all our problems. It can be glorified. It can be made a God. Whereas we can say AI can be useful too, to the extent that we don't allow it to subvert our God-given values. You see, artificial intelligence. does not give us values. It is the values that are very important for us that we must not allow artificial intelligence to subvert. It must be therefore used with extreme caution, considering its many dangers, which I have of academic laziness. Some may rely on AI instead of engaging directly with scriptures and robust theological scholarship. It can deceive. I mean, some lecturers will give high marks for an essay that has been presented in seconds by artificial intelligence. Someone comes up with an A grade for something that they had no work at all put into it. It can become a substitute vehicle you know, for the infiltration of unbiblical values. Relativism, for example. Promotion of same-sex relationships. I mean, so while artificial intelligence is helpful, we are saying, I mean, in one of the terms that I learned when I first played computers was the term that is feeding all these engines for them to give us what they give us today. So some of it is good, we have been told. But there's also a lot of things in there that are not necessarily good for us. And so what we are saying is we don't allow it to become a vehicle for the infiltration It can even become a vehicle for doctrinal distortion. Depending on what has been fed into it, it can give us doctrinal distortion. And then we say, oh well, it is in AI, therefore it must be in AI. And yet, we have also been told that there are some advantages. I mean, this accessibility to information makes making verbal resources more accessible to a wider audience, including those who do not have a means of acquiring all the necessary books. Those who can't buy books, those who don't have the opportunity to do that, at least they've got access to information. It can be time-saving as well. who and where questions of the Bible. This can also free up educators to focus on deeper discussion, mentoring, and fostering transformative spiritual growth. So these are some of the things that we can say, yes, AI can actually be helpful. And so, this has been my question. This is a question that has been uppermost in my mind and I want to... So the things that I will be talking about here is the authenticity and the integrity of the educator, of me, of you. Then I want to talk about lessons from Bloom's taxonomy, because there's some useful lessons that we can learn from Bloom's taxonomy. But then I want to talk about to take full advantage If we want to go beyond AI, we must take advantage of every one of the three modes of education. And then towards ensuring identity, integrity, and involvement in theological education. So those are the things that, those are the proposals that I would like to put to you. So, firstly then, authenticity and integrity of the educator. It is John Maxwell who often observes that everything stands or falls on leadership. This is very much true of us Bible educators. We need to be transformational leaders. And a transformational leader is someone who has got the following three qualities. Someone who knows the way. And Jesus says, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. Someone who knows with whatever it is that we are interacting with. Above all, with the Lord. We need to be someone who knows the way. But if we are going to be transformational, my friends, it is not enough for us to know the way. We must also be people who are able to show the way. Even as we're coming, You know, we saw so many signposts pointing to this, and here is the road to Pretoria, here is the road to Johannesburg, and so on. So we saw those signposts. But if I was to be able to carry out a conversation with these signposts that say, have you been to Pretoria? If the signpost was able to answer and say, no, I've never been there. So what are you doing? I'm only showing the way, but I've never been the way. That's why I say we need to not only show the way, we need to also go the way. Unless we want to model the things that we teach, unless we want to model the lifestyle and the values that are God-honoring and transformative. We can say, yes, this is what you must do, this is what you must not do. But they didn't go the way. So the transformational leader must know the way, must show the way, and must go the way. I mean, there must be a balanced concern for the head, the head that knows, the head that The unbalanced concern for head knowledge alone. I think this is what I would call the received style of education, where you are rewarded for how much information you have been able to put in your head, how much information you are able to engage in the head. you know, from the head of the lecturer to the head of the student, and then from the head of the student to the paper that they write, and then I say, how much of this have you been able to remember? This unbalanced head knowledge is what has now made us a lot more vulnerable today, in so many ways, where I can say, Because, I mean, you know, there's no way you can synthesize as much information, you know, and summarize it as much as AI can. So we can't just depend on head knowledge. And in fact, head knowledge alone, you know, has got a very limited value. I had to take a survey of my many years of education through primary school, through secondary school, And I say, so how transformative? How transformative was all the knowledge that I had? And how relevant was a lot of this? Anyway, how relevant was it? I mean, you know, in any secondary school, I mean, in studying geography, for example, we're told things like, in Canada, fishing is a major occupation. We don't live in Canada, but we're told in Canada fishing is a major occupation. And then we're told that they eat what they can, and then they care what they can't. And so you write all the number of rivers that you find in such and such a place, how many mountains you find there, and what is the capital city of this particular place, and that, and so forth. What does that do to my life? And so I'm saying that this unbalanced emphasis on stuff in your head, which we can now so easily get, you know, just by typing a few things on AI, and it gives us all this information. And no, we must say we must be authentic. So we are saying, authenticity and integrity must begin with me. It must begin with you. It must begin with all of us. And so we have to reflect. Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 1, follow my example. of the authenticity and integrity of the Bible educator, because we need to be able to say, follow my example. Not just know what I know, but follow my example. And you can only authentically say, follow my example, if you or me are following the example of Christ. What about some lessons from Bloom? Well, this is something that is still a useful tool, made way, way before AI. In fact, when I was still in lower primary education, 1950s, you know, this is when reviewed. Now Bloom's taxonomy, as I said, made in the 1950s, can assist us to go beyond information processing, and hence beyond AI. Bloom's taxonomy allows educators to value the complexity of tasks and questions, thereby providing appropriate challenges for students at different If you are not yet, I'm sure many of you are familiar with Bloom's taxonomy, but if you are not yet familiar with Bloom's taxonomy, it has got graded skills, six levels of skills, beginning with the lowest level of simply information recall. Remember, the ability to recall and recognize information from memory. So this is the lowest. But the thing is, then we can't just depend on remembering facts. We now have to say, do we understand? Do we understand this? Do we comprehend? Are we able to explain the significance of that information? So we go to another level higher. And then we say, OK, now that we know the facts, now that we understand, can we go higher still and say how does this apply? How does this apply to my situation? How does this apply to my country? How does it apply to my participation in politics and in economics and so forth? We need to be able to apply this. And then we go higher still and we understand different paths. But we don't end there still. We must be able to evaluate the ability to weigh evidence, to consider alternatives, to form judgments based on established criteria. But we go higher still and say, what can we create out of all this? Can we become creators generating new ideas, products, solutions, creating the highest level of cognitive skills according to Bloom's taxonomy. So I'm saying that if we want to go beyond AI, we must borrow these concepts from Bloom and say, you know, our education can no longer be that of information processing, that of remembering facts. We want to say also Plumstead's zonomy emphasizes the development of higher order thinking skills, which are vital in preparing students for real world challenges and professional conduct. This will be the authentic knowledge, which is able to make a difference to the way we live. By intentionally integrating higher level cognitive activities into our teaching, we as educators can enhance students' critical thinking. problem-solving analytical abilities. This focus on higher-order thinking promotes deeper learning, equips students with skills that are highly valued in their professional careers. And this also minimizes AI doing the work that students should be doing by themselves. When we say now, how does this actually apply? How does this actually dynamics are supposed to work, we must go beyond. Yes, we can be helped by AI, but we must go beyond by applying some of these concepts that we learned. So a question for our reflection then would be, how useful do you find Bloom's taxonomy in ensuring that Bible education, in terms of authentic learning, goes beyond information processing? I need to talk about utilizing all three dimensions of education. Education does not happen in one dimension. It happens in three dimensions or three levels in order for that education to be authentic. And I think in Bible education, especially in Bible education, three dimensions, and what are they? Well, dimension number one is informal education. Informal. Now this refers to the learning that takes place through every After all, how did we learn our languages? How did I learn Shona? It was not through syllabus and examinations and so forth. It was just what I picked up as I saw others speaking, as I saw people interacting informally. Now, the Bible is what I want to say. but how we should be impacted by this kind of informal education. Deuteronomy 6, verse 49, provides an example of informal learning, whereby parents are to take advantage of teachable moments in the daily lives that they live with their children. One of the verses says, you shall talk of these laws of mine, When you sit in your house, just while you are sitting, you talk about these things. Something is reminding you to be thankful, for example. Here is food. Where did it come from? It comes from the Lord. So you talk about these things as you sit in the house. You talk about these things when you walk, by the way. I mean, you are taking a walk. And opportunities are coming. Teachable moments are coming. And so while you are taking your walk, you are talking about these things. When you lie down, you are talking about these things. When you rise, in other words, every moment of life presents some teachable moments. This is what we are referring to as the informal education. You see, so for Bible educators, how do we tap into informal but very transformative and teachings to their daily lives and experience, just daily life, daily experiences. Because our daily life, our daily experience presents many opportunities for reflecting on what does this mean? What is God saying? What does it mean? We need to encourage such kind of reflective life, facilitating discussions and reflections on how Bible relates to current events, to personal challenges, to cultural content. How does the Bible relate to all these things? Providing opportunities for learners to share their own stories, their perspectives, their interpretations. As we go about in life, what is it that the Lord is saying to us? That's the first dimension, the informal. So we need to say, how do we incorporate in our theological education, because the informal is very important. Then there is another dimension that we call non-formal. So there's a relationship, of course, but it's not exactly the same. The informal and the non-formal are not the same. So non-formal education encompasses organized learning activities. I mean, Bible educators can also do, I mean, Jesus utilized a lot of the non-formal way of discipling. group studies, retreats, community outreach programs that allow for more interaction and experiential learning along the way. It's organized, but it's not like heavy examination, syllabus, syllabus completion, examination passing, and things like that. No, it's organized When we invite guest speakers and experts or community leaders to share their insights and experiences, we are really taking advantage of the non-formal type of education. When we organize debates on pertinent issues of the day, we are part of what we call actors, education in Zimbabwe. And so we, one of the things that we do within our association is we organize debates around very current issues. What are we doing? We are taking advantage of non-formal education to reflect on issues of the day. But then there is also the formal. Now, the formal education refers to the structured curriculum-based learning that typically takes place in educational institutions. Now, this is the inherited information processing education system that is heavy on syllabus coverage, heavy on passing examinations. Now, for Bible education, this dimension can also be utilized. I mean, it has become a part of us. It has become a required part of us. But what we should do is try to maximize what we can Can we develop well-designed relevant curriculum? Can we ensure that the curriculum is grounded in sound biblical scholarship? Can we provide opportunities for the learners to engage in critical analysis, research, and collaborative learning within the formal setting? We can do those things, but what I want to say The non-formal is what takes the best of both the informal and the formal. So I'm a fond person for that kind of non-formal education, because it uses the best of both the formal and the informal by integrating strengths application, and ownership of biblical principles. This approach can help learners develop a strong foundation in biblical knowledge, while also encouraging personal reflection, critical thinking, and practical application of the teachings. Ultimately, the goal should be connecting the timeless truths of scripture with everyday life and the pressing issues of the modern world. That's what we need to do as we integrate the formal and the informal in the non-formal education. Now, for this not to be just theory, I want to talk a little bit about how we have tried to do this at Nombushawa Theological College. And here I am talking mainly about the pre-COVID, our pre-COVID experience. Because in the post-COVID era, and take advantage of all the things that we found highly impactful, highly beneficial that we did in the pre-COVID era. But this is the thing that DTC has experienced. So for us, formal education is a necessity imposed by accreditation requirements. we have to be accredited. So we are accredited through the Zimbabwe Open University for our first degree, through Africa University for our master's degree. This accreditation is important in the sense that our students, when they present their papers, will be recognised as people who are employable. So they also need to live, they also need to survive. So that kind of accreditation is without including significant elements of the non-formal education, with the following outstanding examples of what we did. Every day, and we're still doing this even up to now, every day begins with the chapel service, where students practice various ministry skills, how to be an emcee, how to preach, you know, I mean, you see, these chapel services, This is not like the examination type of thing, but it's giving them lots of great skills, where students are impacting the lives of other students. Then, on Thursdays, where we have a two-hour extended chapel service, encompassing, we start with koinonia groups, where the Bible is applied to contextual realities. Here we are with the problem of corruption. What does the Bible say about corruption? And so in these koinonia groups, We introduce very, very important contextual questions, which are discussed in small groups. Then that is followed by a worship service, which is done in different styles. Some of it can be led in a very Pentecostal type of style, in a very formal Anglican-type style, and something in the Baptist type of style, if you're not Baptist. We are the in-betweens. Okay, so that time, I mean, when I met my students, even former students, they keep on talking about the impact of that two hours that we have had on Thursday. And then, of course, now there's the third year of a four-year program, of a four-year first degree program, which is supervised placements, wonderful opportunities for learning, learning while ministering. Very wonderful. And then we say to these 38 degree students that you are able to acquire an extra certificate, an extra diploma when you now come for these block releases which give you the diploma in pastoral studies. And because now it's our diploma, it was accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education, but it's what we design, it's what we teach in our own way. you know, the trainers of Pastors Association of Zimbabwe, what we call TOPAs, Trainers of Pastors Association of Zimbabwe. Now, this is an opportunity where those who don't have the right qualifications for formal education, you know, I mean, you don't have so many A-levels or O-levels and so on, but you love the Lord and you want to minister. Now, the college has sponsored the the one year foundation certificate in pastoral ministry, and then others would go into the second year of advanced certificate in pastoral ministry. What are we doing when you do all these things? We are saying, let's combine the formalities required by formal education with the impactful learning that we get from non-formal education. And that way, we can be more transformative, give authentic knowledge to our students. So we can reflect on the question, how effectively is your institution utilizing all three dimensions of education, the informal, the non-formal, and the formal? How effectively are we integrating all three dimensions to ensure authenticity and integrity That's a question that we need to reflect, and that's a question that we are bringing back into reflection in the post-COVID era, and saying, you know, some of what we lost when we were mainly doing things online, we now need to recover for the better equipment of our students. Now, going higher still. The reason why I talked about the three dimensions is because, ultimately, what we need to achieve are three things. What I call the three eyes, right? I derived these three eyes from Jesus' teaching, you know, as part of his sermon on the mountain, where he says, you are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. So he continues to talk about salt and light. Now, so I was doing a reflection on salt and light. And then I said to myself, what? And I came up with these three I's. I came up with the I of identity, the I of integrity, and the I of involvement. Salt and light must have those three characteristics in order to be transformative. So I had a picture of that stool. I know the organizers are going to be gracious enough to allow me to correct a few things that I saw, like I needed to resize the stool so that it doesn't block some of your work there. So I'm sure they will allow me to do that before they, you know. So I just took a picture of a stool. And I said, a three-legged stool can only stand and be effective if all You take away even one of them. If you take away identity, it doesn't stand. If you say, OK, I want to keep identity, but I will take away integrity, and just let it stand, it doesn't stand. If you say, OK, I'll keep identity and integrity in place, but I will not have involvement, again, it won't stand. So just as a stool needs only three legs to stand, our witness, our preaching of the gospel in word and in deed will only be effective to the extent that all three I's are in place. So let's briefly examine each of these I's. There is the I of identity, our identity in Christ. Salt must actually remain salt. I mean, salt must not be anything else. I mean, salt must not change to become sand or ashes. Salt must actually maintain the identity of saltiness. Light must maintain its identity of lightness. It can't be light when it is put under a bushel, under a basket, so that it doesn't show its lightness. You see, identity is very important for both salt and light. So our identity is critical for our effectiveness in this world. Our identity is critical, right? And our identity takes us beyond our natural nature. I mean, we are natural. I mean, we are bodies in clay. But we think these bodies in clay, I mean, 1 Peter 2 verse 9 is a very strong expression of who we are and that identity we cannot sacrifice for anything. I mean, we are the chosen people. That which was formerly only applicable to Jews now belongs to all of us in Christ. We are actually a chosen people, chosen by God himself. We are not only a chosen people, we are a royal priesthood. Priests who are royal for that matter. I mean, just let that sink in. Let our identity sink into our consciousness. We are a royal priesthood. We are able to speak to God on behalf of man and to man on behalf of God. We have got such a privileged position of being royal priests. We are a holy nation. Our holiness is imputed holiness because of Christ who is in me and who I put on Christ. When God looks at me, he sees his son Jesus in me. We are a holy nation. And we are God's special possession. God's special possession. This is who we are. Our faith in him must define who we are and must shape our worldview. I mean, our identity must shape our worldview. And so I want to say that this identity has got implications for our transformative mission in the world. citizens. We have no need to feel intimidated by the surrounding culture. We have no need to feel inferior. We have no need to be apologetic. We have no need for that because of who we are in Christ. Our identity defines our ultimate purpose and therefore our significance to proclaim the excellences of him who called Our identity must make our work of integrity imperative, as God's work can only succeed when done in God's way. Now, without maintaining our vital relationship with God, we lose our saltiness and cannot change the world. And so what is our relationship like? I mean, we must always be asking ourselves the question, how am I cultivating? my relationship with, do I let the pressures of assignments and other things, you know, eclipse my relationship with the Lord. Our identity is critical. Like Jesus who must refuse to live on borrowed identity. Jesus at Caesarea Philippi did not say, oh, I'm John the Baptist. We must refuse to live on borrowed identity. And the world wants to give us an identity. That does not really belong to us. We need to refuse to live on borrowed identity. Now, while our relationship with God gives us our primary identity, we have got other secondary identities as well. I mean, we don't despise those secondary identities, but they are secondary. They are secondary. None of our secondary identities must supersede our primary identity. Right, so God has given me a certain race. God has given me a certain tribe. But must I elevate my race beyond my identity in Christ to make myself a racist? Must I elevate my tribe beyond my relationship with Christ to make me a tribalist? No, we cannot be racist. or tribalist if our true identity in Christ is maintained. We cannot be classes. We cannot say, well, we are the ones of the upper class. You other people are the ones of the lower class. If our identity in Christ is the same as the identity in Christ of the person who is not educated, we cannot be classes. We have got political preferences, yes, so we have got political identities. Some in Zimbabwe, some are called Zampier, some are called CCC, and some are called other things. But the moment you let that identity become elevated, so that you now start to say, down with so-and-so. I mean, some of these political slogans are terrible. Down with so-and-so. You have to say, oh, if you are not Zambian, forget everybody else, Spanish. That's what you are saying, right? And then CCC came up with their own slogan. They say, yes, uncle. You know? I mean, OK, I'm giving you this person for YouTube. to throw down and crash down. I mean, if you really put that identity in Christ, now that political identity cannot supersede our identity in Christ. And therefore I'm saying, in terms of our identity, given the importance of our identity, how do we build it into Bible education? Now this is why I talked about informal, non-formal, informal. We cannot have these three eyes adequately by just following the formal education. Then quickly, what about our integrity? our integrity, our character, that makes us distinct from the world. Salt and light also stand for integrity. That goes with our relationship with the Lord. Integrity is the cornerstone of our character as Christian business people, students, teachers, and so forth. It is the alignment of our actions with our beliefs and values. A person of integrity adheres to both the value system in all areas of life, public and private. And the Bible has got so much to teach about integrity. I mean Job chapter 2 verse 3, you know, it talks about Job as blameless, as upright, fearing God and shunning evil. Exodus 18 verse 21, Moses choose people who are capable, who fear God, who are trustworthy, and who hate a dishonest gain. Integrity is important. Proverbs chapter 22 verse 1, a good name is more desirable than great riches. We've got gold mafia stories, or people who think that having great riches is much more important than anything else. No, a good name is more desirable than great riches. To be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Proverbs chapter 37, verse 25. I mean, I was once young. I mean, I identify with the sermons there. I was also once young. But now I'm a 74-year-old person. But I have never seen the righteous forsaken, you see. All of their children begging for bread. So in the light of this imperative, we must engage in values-based education. I am a great believer in values-based education. I'm one of the people who wrote The Zimbabwe We Want, and the section that I was given to write was about the values of the Zimbabwe that we want, the values that God wants. And there I emphasize the importance of values-based education. So we can also reflect on this and say, how can Bible schools assist students to reflect Christ's character? Especially in our relationship with the opposite sex, how do we reflect Christ's character? In our action towards money and possessions, how do we reflect God's character? I mean, in our humility? you know, shining pride, how do we reflect God? Now, the final thing is involvement. Now, salt and light must have an identity, right? Salt and light must have integrity, but salt and light must also have involvement. So, we need to also talk about involvement. How can salt be transformative if it refuses to be involved? If it stays in the salt shaker, it will not be involved. How can light be transformative if it stays under a potion? You see, salt and light must be involved. So I ask a question, when you talk about involvement, which group do we belong to? There is group one, the few people who make things happen, like when you watch soccer. You know, there are a few 20-something people who are making things happen. But then there are many who are just in the terraces, who are watching things happen. And then there is the majority who have no idea what is happening. What is our level of involvement? Which particular group are we? Now, involvement, of course, is a necessity, right? Is a necessity. As demonstrated by Jesus in John chapter 4, verse 34, Jesus says, my food is to do. Is to be involved. My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his will. Paul also makes the similar statements about involvement. In Acts chapter 20, verse 24, he declared, I consider my life worth nothing. To me, my aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. All these are statements of involvement, right? So significant minister involvement must therefore be a prerequisite for our students to graduate. Right? And as one of my favorite teachers would say, that's Rick Warren, our involvement must take our shape. Everybody's shaped differently. And by shape, he means spiritual gifts for us, our heart, the passion that we have in our heart, our abilities, our personalities, and our experiences. The shape that God has given us. we must determine the kind of work that God wants us to do. So as I come towards the conclusion, and I'm just saying that so that the person who is going to raise the flag on me will know that I'm really doing my last dance, you know. Authentic involvement must correspond to our shape. 1 Corinthians chapter 12 likens Christian service to the functioning of different parts of the body. Right? And then there's a quote attributed to an American author and lecturer, Anna Sneed, who says, we must not expect a fish to climb a tree. I mean, when we force someone to do what they can't do, which is not in their shape, they will think they are the dullest and they must. unimportant person, but let people act according to their shape. This court encourages us to recognize that people have different strengths and weaknesses and natural inclinations. We must avoid unfair comparisons. We can't compare a fish and a bird. They are just made differently so that we recognize people. for what God has made them. So the reflection there is how can we ensure that our students graduate after acquiring practical ministry skills instead of just having theological knowledge experience. So, here are your concluding thoughts. Therefore, we can indeed overcome the negative effects of artificial world by embracing authenticity and integrity in Bible education. This must begin with the authenticity and integrity of the educator. We can even use valuable tools like Bloom's taxonomy. Our theological education must happen at all three levels of education, the informal, the non-formal, and the formal level. And then we need values-based education, which is very important for transformation. And as Jesus would say in John chapter 13, verse 17, Now that you know these things, you shall be blessed. Not just by knowing. Thanks to Dr. Socio. As he is presenting here, I'm thinking of someone. that I know two people. The other one was like my size, and the other one was bigger. So they decided to go to the gym. When they went to the gym, you know, the first day, you want to go to the scale and just to check your weight. So they went to check their weight of the gym, and it has a voice. So it will tell you 70 kilos, 80 kilos, And then when the big man went to the scale, it reached the maximum that he couldn't read the scale. And he said, one person at a time, please. Looked at the scale, looked at the frame, and went in again. I said, one person at a time, please. So now I'm thinking of AI, the aspect of body-shaming. So when you go back to your churches, you must tell the people that their identity is in Christ, even if AI body-shames. So I'll call upon Mr. Debsa to come and do the announcement. Morning. I think this is the last time I stand here, and that man threatened me. Who are the big guys here? One at a time. People, it was good to be the commander-in-chief. I appreciate it very much. The last few things. While I'm announcing, I would love to call on stage the organizing team. Please join me here. All the organizing team, please join me on stage. One is already here. This is our last announcement, if I don't make mistake. All your late texts, make sure You put them... That's a box made available there for all the name tags. If you leave with it, we won't hold you accountable. It's not a sin, but it's stealing. But anyhow, bring it. But we would love to use them next year again in the other events, please. put it there and would love to have it again. And secondly, we would love you to fill up the evaluation forms and tell us how we have done and if you have loved this place, just write even behind that paper. And we promise we will try our best again to be here next year. Before I will speak something to my committee, Most of you, if not all, you will be leaving today. May you travel with the mercies of the Lord. May he be with you. May he take care of you and your family and your ministries. And we thank the Lord for you being here. It has made us a proud committee to serve you since Monday until now. You know, when you are about to separate, there's tears, but I won't cry. I'm a big man, eh? I won't cry. So we want to thank you very much for the love and the respect that you have given us. Thank you very much. And we hope to see you next year again here, and hopefully at the same time, to enjoy what the Lord has provided us. It has been a very good journey with you since Monday. And we thank all the speakers, and we thank you for respecting our rules and regulations and the chief in command. One last thing here, when you leave, just make sure you take everything from your rooms, except the blankets that I've given you. And leave the keys on the door, please. Because we have to move and check if you did not leave anything, and we have to take a few of the things out of there. Just leave the key on the door, please. And then we will collect it and travel safely. And to my committee, Thank you very much for the hard work. If I have to choose a committee, I will choose you again and again and again. This is one humble group. You wake them up at 12 o'clock, you wake them up at one o'clock, they run. They have done their best. If they have had to in any way, please forgive us. And if we have done the best, give us a round of applause. Thank you very much. May the Lord continue blessing you and using you even in the next coming days. Thank you. Thank you very much. Because of time, we can just stand and stretch, and then we will continue with the second session. You never know.